Just for Laughs 2013: Tripp & Tyler and The Katydids review

Tripp & Tyler started their shared show with the Katydids at Stage 773 with modesty and humor, acknowledging the fact that only 19 people had purchased tickets by taking attendance and asking audience members to note if they were present before the show could get underway.

Yes, the night was presented by Above Average, the web branch of Lorne Michaels's Broadway Video, but the format of alternating between video clips and live sketches didn't come together in this setting. Compared to the polished format of the videos, the sketches fell flat and didn't seem to get nearly as many laughs, with the exception of a gag in which Tripp interviewed audience members while standing far too close in only his underwear.

The show then quickly moved on to the Katydids without any real transition or acknowledgment of the shared stage space. The all-female troupe also started out their set with a video, but smartly stuck with live improv for the rest of their time on stage.

In a show that was mostly mediocre, the bright spot of the night was Kate Lambert, particularly in an improvised scene that started with her reading an essay about sneaking out in her parents' car ("When you have a Geo Prism, it calls your name") without permission and somehow took a dark turn to her confessing to killing the family cat.

The shared format of the show felt awkward and completely disjointed and I wondered if it could've been better if Tripp & Tyler and the Katydids each had their own show instead of trying to fit both of them in to a strange 45-minute format. Both groups have incredible presence online, from Tripp & Tyler's YouTube channel (Shit No One Says is a personal favorite) and the Katydids' Web series Teachers, but the night didn't come together live.